Ch.127Chapter 127 – Strange Decisive Battle

A few hours after Adler returned to the hideout in the back alley after a long time, just as the moon began to rise in the sky.

“Good evening, everyone…”

As if he had grown somewhat attached to the hound that followed him from Baskerville to London, Adler appears in the living room with the dog on a leash after carefully washing its dirty body in the bathroom.

“”……….””

However, for some reason, the living room atmosphere is quieter than usual.

“… Huh?”

After tilting his head in confusion for a moment, he realizes the living room is empty and a question mark appears on his face.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Grrrr.”

At that moment, a low growl begins to emerge from the hound that’s stuck close to Adler’s leg with a blank expression.

“Uh?”

As the creature begins to stride forward with powerful steps, Adler, holding the leash, shows a surprised expression as he’s dragged along.

“W-where are you going…?”

As the hound leaves the hideout and begins wandering the darkening streets of London, Adler, sweating nervously, questions the creature.

“……..”

“…Go wherever you want.”

“Woof.”

But when the creature turns around and stares at him with gleaming eyes, Adler lowers his tail and finally surrenders himself to the hound.

– Trudge, trudge…

And so, Adler and the hound begin roaming the dark back alleys of London where mysterious fog has started to rise here and there.

“…Hmm?”

Walking along with a mixture of worry and curiosity while appreciating the dreamlike atmosphere, Adler quietly tilts his head.

“The smell of blood…?”

His sense of smell—half demon but half vampire—had caught the scent of blood wafting from just ahead.

“What on earth…”

So with slight tension, Adler walks alongside the hound whose eyes are gleaming as it leads the way.

“…Huh?”

He soon begins to wear a blank expression.

“Master?”

“Daddy.”

“What. Why did you come all the way out here?”

Silver Blaze. Celestia Moran. And Lady Joanne Clay.

Currently the three most loyal subordinates to Adler were looking at him from around a corner of the back alley, covered in blood.

“W-what’s going on. Seriously.”

“We were hunting!”

“Hunting…?”

When Adler, looking at them with astonished eyes, asks the question, Silver Blaze answers while looking at him with bright eyes.

“Were you cleaning up the back alleys?”

Hearing those words, Adler opens his mouth with a horrified expression.

“I told you to leave at least 1/3 alone. If you sweep everything clean, we’ll lose the forces we could absorb…”

“…No? We finished that several weeks ago?”

“Huh?”

But Silver Blaze scratches her head as if confused by his words.

“We’ve already completely absorbed 80 percent of the forces stationed in the back alleys. The remaining 20 percent either left London or were eliminated.”

“…What on earth did you do to take control of a place that’s practically a magical realm to that extent in just a month?”

“Didn’t we report this to you?”

When Adler asks with a shocked expression, Silver Blaze, who had been quietly watching his reaction, begins to report on what had happened.

“Lady Clay’s vampire legion, and thankfully, the Werebeasts who accepted my proposal and joined the organization played a big role in increasing our forces. Of course, most organizations still looked down on us as rookies…”

“…So we just blew the heads off all the organization leaders. I did well, didn’t I, Daddy?”

Meanwhile, Moran casually wipes the blood from her face with her hand and skips over to Adler.

“Mmm…”

As she looks up at him with expectant eyes, Adler, feeling a chill down his spine, forces a calm smile and strokes her head.

“Tsk, why of all the many titles does she have to call me Daddy…”

“Still, for organizations that resisted, the Lady personally led her subordinates to annihilate them. She drained so much blood that she can now return to human form on her own.”

“…Hmph.”

After grumbling while watching this scene, Lady Clay quietly turns her head away with folded arms as Silver Blaze praises her from the side.

“What’s the point of us working our bones off like this? The one who calls himself our master doesn’t even care about us and just wanders around…”

“…Hmm.”

As she mutters with a cold expression, Adler, quietly scratching his head, takes a step forward.

“What was that?”

– Smooch.

“…Uh?”

After staring at her intently with his head tilted, Adler suddenly kisses the Lady on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

As he smiles lazily with the moonlight behind him and whispers, the Lady, who had been staring blankly at Adler, hurriedly turns her head away.

“…..How annoying.”

The voice that escapes her lips is still cold but somehow different.

“”……..””

The eyes of Silver Blaze and Moran, who were looking at Adler, gleam coldly for a brief moment.

“But if it wasn’t cleaning up the back alleys, what exactly were you all doing here?”

However, failing to notice this fact, Adler asks in a cheerful voice.

“…We were hunting monsters.”

“What?”

“They’ve started appearing sporadically in the back alleys recently.”

Hearing this, his expression instantly becomes serious.

“By monsters, exactly what kind…?”

“The most common are shadow-like humanoid creatures. Occasionally, monsters from legends appear in degraded forms.”

“Just now we were fighting Werewolves and Undead, Daddy.”

Silver Blaze and Moran continue their explanation to him with calm expressions.

“How often does this happen?”

“Almost every day, mainly at night, Master.”

“For the past few days, appearances were less frequent, but powerful entities showed up on the very day you returned. Be careful, Daddy.”

Adler’s face darkens further as he realizes the seriousness of the situation.

“…As I thought, is it because of me?”

“Pardon?”

‘Now that I’ve realized this body’s true identity, the situation seems likely to worsen rather than improve…’

Adler remains lost in thought with a serious expression.

‘Since the corruption has already begun, I can’t just return either.’

“Master?”

‘Then I guess that method is the only option…’

By the time question marks appear on the women’s faces as they look at him, Adler, having finished his thoughts, quietly rests his chin on his hand.

“…Master.”

After watching him with a slightly anxious expression, Silver Blaze speaks in a low voice.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Hmm?”

“Every time you make that expression, a major incident tends to happen.”

Hearing this, Adler looks quite guilty before smiling and opening his mouth.

“It’s nothing special, just listen. Simply put, I’m going to simultaneously declare war on all monsters in London…”

And so begins Adler’s truly characteristic plan for the future.

“…And that’s how we’ll successfully complete our fake kidnapping plot and escape from the Professor’s clutches. What do you think?”

“Ah, I see.”

“I understand.”

“Hmm.”

After listening to his plan with expressionless faces for a long time, the three women share glances and nod.

“…Should we just tie him up now?”

“This isn’t rebellion or disobedience. We’re protecting Daddy from that insane plan…”

“I’ll approach naturally first and drain all the blood from his body to make him faint.”

Adler’s “loyal” subordinates begin whispering in hushed voices.

– Grrrr…

“Huh?”

At that moment, the hound lying beside Adler with its leash on begins to growl in a low voice.

“What’s wrong with you now…”

Adler quietly tilts his head and begins stroking the creature’s belly.

“…Master.”

Silver Blaze, who had been quietly looking down at him, suddenly asks in a low voice.

“What does this child look like to you?”

“This one?”

Blinking his eyes, Adler answers while looking at the hound still lying with its belly exposed.

“A scary-looking, large hunting dog?”

“Ah…”

“It sometimes frightens me when it flashes those blue eyes and exhales black smoke, but it follows my commands well… So I’m planning to train it well and use it as a guard.”

Rising from his seat and clasping his hands together, he concludes with a smile.

“Anyway, please prepare well for this plan?”

After saying this, Adler turns around and starts heading back to the hideout.

“Poppy, aren’t you coming?”

“Woof!”

He calls to the hound, which for some reason is staring intently at the three women behind him, tilting his head in confusion.

“…Hey.”

Just as the creature responds to his voice and is about to move, an ice-cold voice escapes from Silver Blaze, who until then had been wearing an innocent expression.

“Can’t you see?”

“……….”

At Silver Blaze’s territorial display, which she had never shown even at the racetrack, the creature quietly tilts its head to the side.

“Well, well.”

Not the terrifying hunting dog that appeared in Adler’s eyes, but the form of a girl—neatly groomed by his hands yet still exuding a gloomy atmosphere.

“…Ha.”

As she narrows her eyes, sticks out her tongue, and then heads toward the puzzled, smiling Adler, Silver Blaze makes an exasperated expression.

“I think we need to establish a hierarchy here.”

“…Is that necessary?”

“You do you. In the end, she’s still an animal at heart. No matter how much of a beast Adler is, at least he doesn’t have fur.”

But contrary to those words, the gazes of the other two were also fixed on the girl who had stayed by Adler’s side until the end.

“…I have fur too, you know?”

“……Ah.”

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The next morning. London, where the autumn air had already begun to permeate.

“Oh my.”

“Hmm…”

Throughout the capital of England, which appeared normal on the surface, an ominous tension began to circulate.

“…Is he asking to be killed?”

“He’s asking to be kidnapped by any means necessary, right?”

This was because a letter had been simultaneously sent to monsters hiding throughout London, including Britain’s worst murderer and the phantom thief from France.

[Anyone want to go on a date with me next Sunday?]

And in the corner of each letter, without exception, was a doodle of a boy making a “rawr” pose.